| SBY cancels Perth trip amid storm |
The diplomatic storm over the impending execution of two Australian drug smugglers has prompted former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cancel his three-day trip to Perth.
The West Australian understands that Dr Yudhoyono called the University of Western Australia this morning to inform officials he would be a no-show.
Dr Yudhoyono was scheduled to be the headline act at the In the Zone Asian leadership forum at UWA on Friday.
He and his wife had been expected to arrive in Perth midweek, potentially within hours of the execution by firing squad of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
The two men were given 72 hours’ notice of their execution on the weekend. They could be killed any time after Tuesday night.
Claims have emerged that the judges who sentenced the pair to death asked for over $130,000 to give them a prison term of less than 20 years.
The UWA forum, which will be attended by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Premier Colin Barnett, was not SBY’s only scheduled event.
He has also been expected at a working dinner held by the Perth USAsia, an international policy think tank focusing on Australia's role in the emerging Indo-Pacific region.
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